SuikiShorts
by Midnight Chrysanthemum
Summary: A mix of omake shorts based on the world of Suikoden III.
1. Having a Ball

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A Suikoden III Short. Usual disclaimers apply.

Main Characters: Chris, Lilly and Borus

Pairings Warning: None

Chapters Read: Technically takes place before the game, so… But it likely wouldn't hurt to play up to Chapter 4 anyway.

Explanation: Inspired by Kidd's third profile of Chris. Note that this is merely my interpretation of what might have occurred – I don't know the exact time the event was set, so I took artistic liberty. Translation: chibi Lilly, Chris and Borus getting into trouble, yay! Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing different takes on this by other writers…

~ * Having a Ball * ~

Vinay de Zexay had a fantastic reputation when it came to celebration. The Zexen capital was well known for the grand scope of its galas, tales of the sheer lavishness of every commemoration circulating through every country. Noble families often migrated to the city from near and far simply to partake in the festivities, another symbol of their wealth and high living. This was especially true of the Zexen Federation Day Ball, widely known to be perhaps the most revered and lavishly executed extravaganza of all. 

Yet Lilly Pendragon was bored out of her mind.

It seemed that for all the hype surrounding the festivities, there were distressingly few activities open for ten-year-old girls… at least, ten-year-old girls who came with their parents from a place as far away as Tinto.

Said parents were currently making the social rounds, chatting their lives away with other equally upscale adults while their bored children milled about disinterestedly, trying to keep from nodding off.

Lilly was unused to feeling uncomfortable like this. She didn't know anyone else here, she was in a strange city far from home, and in a strange new dress to boot. The huge pink cream ruffles of her dress's flowing skirt were extremely difficult to avoid treading on as she wandered aimlessly through the choking crowd.

She scrunched her face up into a cute pout, deciding that once they finally got home, the first thing she'd do was throw all her super-fluffy dresses out the window and pitch a fit until she got a new wardrobe. She wasn't a little baby anymore, and surely there were plenty of fashions that didn't put the wearer in constant danger of tripping over her own clothing…

Take, for example, the silver-haired girl she spotted at that moment standing by one of the food-laden tables several feet away. She looked plenty pretty without drowning in a mass of ruffles. Lilly's pout became an expression of stubborn determination as she staggered toward her, determined to ask where the stranger had bought her own dress.

Unaware she was being scrutinized by a peeved Pendragon at that very moment, Chris Lightfellow watched the nearby adults nervously, wringing the hem of her simple silver and royal blue gown in both white-knuckled hands. Satisfied that none of the older folks were paying any attention to her at the moment, her amethyst gaze swiveled to the white tablecloth before her.

"I'm not so sure this is a good idea…" she mumbled.

The ivory tablecloth rippled, and then a hand emerged and pushed it upward, revealing the scowling face of a boy crouching underneath the table.

"Shh! You wanna get us caught?" scolded the boy in a harsh whisper.

"No, but…"

"Then be quiet, okay? Just give me a bit longer and I'll get it!"

The blonde-topped head vanished back beneath the concealing white folds of the tablecloth, and Chris stamped her foot in frustration. Why did that Borus have to be so… so… boyish?! If he got caught, it would land both of them in trouble…

"Excuse me!" an imperious voice cried behind her.

"Wah!" Chris jumped with shock and spun around, silver braids whipping wildly behind her, lavender eyes wide with fear. "What?! What?!"

"Ow! Careful with those!"

Lilly winced and rubbed her cheek where one of the other girl's long braids had struck her. Chris double-blinked, startled to see a girl roughly her age standing where she had expected a disapproving adult to be.

"Oh… Sorry," she murmured sheepishly.

"Are all Zexens this edgy?" wondered Lilly, still rubbing her sore cheek. "I just wanted to know who does your tailoring…"

"Uh…" Chris shrugged. "I dunno… a tailor?"

"…Ha. Ha. Ha," Lilly deadpanned. Her lower lip jutted out again as she stubbornly insisted, "I didn't come over here to listen to your poor attempts at humor. Now, seriously, who made that dress?"

"I told you, I don't know!" Chris was flabbergasted: who did this strange girl think she was to come out of nowhere and start asking silly questions? Not to mention that her timing really sucked…

Suddenly the tawny-haired boy's head popped out from under the tablecloth again. This time the boy was grinning ear-to-ear when he emerged, golden brown eyes shining as he produced a pair of glasses filled to the brim with a deep burgundy liquid.

"Got it!" he declared, crawling out and standing up with his treasures. "Now we'll see what my parents and all the adults like so much about this stuff. Here ya go Chris… Um, who's your friend?" he asked as he belatedly noticed the wide-eyed redhead in ruffles standing next to the startled silver-haired girl.

"Ah, ah, ah," sputtered Lilly, pointing at the glasses he carried. "That's wine! Only grownups are allowed to drink that stuff!"

"Eep!" Borus froze up. "D-don't you dare tell on us!"

"Y, yeah!" seconded an equally terrified Chris.

"No fair! I want some too!"

"…Huh?"

Chris and Borus blinked in unison. Lilly's bottom lip jutted out dangerously again, and she stamped her feet impatiently, hands on her hips.

"If you guys don't let me try it, I'll tell!" she threatened. "Now gimme that!"

She made a grab for one of the glasses, but Borus jerked his hand away, hissing, "No! My idea, Chris and I get to try it first!"

At the same time, Chris tried to grab the glasses as well, saying, "Okay, okay, here, take it…!"

There was a crimson splash, and the three froze, staring down at the mess they'd made. A huge stretch of burgundy now slashed across the front of Lilly's formerly pure pink cream dress, dripping down the ruffles. The trio gaped at this for a long, breathless minute, then the redhead's face contorted again.

Just because she didn't particularly like the dress that much didn't mean she would take having a couple of wine-stealing brats ruin it!

"I'm… gonna…"

Her entire body trembled with the force of the coming eruption. Chris and Borus both recoiled, certain the next word would be a screech of "TELL!" that would bring all the adults down on their heads.

"H, here, take it!" Chris cried, yanking the remaining glass from Borus's numb grasp and thrusting it toward Lilly as a desperate peace offering.

The quaking redhead paused, blinking at the glass goblet. She reached out, took it… and promptly dumped the contents onto Chris's dress.

"There. Even," she declared, folding her arms and looking mightily pleased with herself.

Chris looked down at the fresh stain on the front of her blouse for a moment, then up at Lilly, blank-faced. Slowly, tears began to glisten in the corners of her eyes. Unlike Lilly, she happened to really like her dress. Her father had told her before that she looked a great deal like her mother while wearing it.

Glaring back up at Lilly, driven solely by impulsive anger, she slapped the other girl across the cheek.

Lilly staggered back a step, one hand going to her throbbing cheek, the other tightening into a fist at her side. She looked fully ready to respond in kind.

"Um, girls…?" Borus interjected, seeing the pair glare daggers at each other.

His meek murmur was a mistake, as it reminded both of his presence. They turned their glares upon him, and he recoiled. Both decided upon one thing at that instant: it was his fault for getting the wine in the first place.

"You!" both snarled.

"Ahhh!" Borus screamed, sounding remarkably like a stereotypical female, and ducked back underneath the tablecloth,

Both girls lunged after him, and the table rocked dangerously before falling over with a fantastic crash. Everyone in the vicinity jumped and turned just in time to see everything on top of said table fly off, blanketing those closest in splattered foodstuffs.

Borus emerged first, half-tangled in the no-longer pristine ivory tablecloth, yet stumbling away as fast as his snared legs would carry him. Hot on his heels were a girl with silver hair falling out of its neat braids and a redhead with the bottom ruffles of her dress ripped off, screaming and throwing handfuls of ruined food at him and each other.

The collected adults blinked at this spectacle, then reacted in typical fashion: each turned to those closest to them and declared unanimously, "Not my children, thank the Goddess."


	2. Problem Puppet

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A Suikoden III Short. Usual disclaimers apply.

Main Characters: Mel, Branky and Borus

Pairings Warning: One-sided Branky/Borus

Chapters Read: Up to Chapter 4, after setting up in Homeland

Explanation: Inspired by a single line of dialogue from Mel: "Branky says she likes Sir Borus. It would be nice if Branky could speak with him…"

~ * Problem Puppet * ~

Borus strode into the inn, making a beeline for the mess hall. The golden-haired knight had just been dismissed from the team after accompanying the new Flame Champion on a training trip and was famished. Leave it to a Grassie brat to drag him all the way to Mt. Senai and back, hardly giving him any healing medicine to treat his wounds when the monsters attacked, and then dump him off as soon as he got back.

It wouldn't have bothered him if he hadn't seen that his replacement in the group was one of those accused welcome-basket dogs.

"I'll never understand Grasslanders," he muttered.

At least hopefully now he'd be able to get a decent meal. Borus just hoped that this establishment offered a nice selection of wine… somehow he doubted it, but it would certainly brighten this terrible day he'd been having so far…

"Why, hello there, handsome! Hee hee hee hee!"

Borus stopped in his tracks, blinked, and looked around for the source of the voice. Turning around, he glared at the person behind him.

"That had better not have been you," he growled.

"H-heavens no, of course not!" Sebastian quailed behind his desk and mopped his brow. "Perish the thought, sir!"

"…Good."

Borus slowly turned away, keeping one dark amber eye trained suspiciously on the portly butler.

"Hee hee hee hee! Hey, don't insult me, hot stuff!"

Borus whipped around again, and this time noticed another occupant of the room: a young girl in blue with a ribbon crowning her short brown hair. She smiled, tan eyes alight, and Borus smiled slightly in return.

"Oh, hello," he turned to face her, relief evident in his greeting. "Sorry about that, Miss…"

"It's Mel," the girl replied, blushing a bit.

"Ah, Mel, then…"

"And I'm Branky!" piped a voice exactly like the one he had first heard. "Hee hee hee hee hee!"

Dead silence filled the room as Borus stared at the black-and-white puppet on the girl's right hand. It seemed to gaze right back up at him, beady blue eyes glittering wolfishly. For a second, he almost thought the doll winked at him. Blinking, he quickly shook his head and assured himself his mind was playing tricks on him.

"Ah… So you're a ventriloquist, then?" he asked, smiling nervously at Mel.

She scowled and shook her head.

"Why does everyone say that?" she complained. Glaring at her doll, she said, "Honestly, Branky, you have no manners whatsoever!"

"Hee hee hee!" the puppet chortled. Turning its head towards Borus, it leered, "So, what's a handsome knight like you doing in a place like this?"

"Um…" At a loss for what to do, Borus pointed weakly at the mess hall. "I was just… going to get… something to eat…"

"Hee hee! Sorry, but I don't think they serve meals for guys like you here!"

"W-what?! What is that supposed to mean?" demanded Borus, his famous rage getting the better of him, rounding on Branky while trying to ignore the little voice in the back of his head wailing that he was talking to a doll that wasn't of the human variety, either.

"You know what they say, you are what you eat, and they don't serve beefcake here!"

"What?"

"You're a beefcake, Borus baby! B-E-E-F-C-A-K-E!! Hee hee!"

Borus blinked. Then he blushed as it sank in.

"…Um…yeah," he said awkwardly, his inner psyche moaning that he was getting hit on by a puppet of all things.

"Branky! Behave!" Mel shouted, looking thoroughly scandalized.

Incidentally, Sebastian also looked quite mortified himself, although the portly butler was trying to act as if he wasn't paying any attention whatsoever to the odd conversation.

"…Well, I… I think I'll go… Maybe I should just get something at the café instead," Borus finally decided after a very awkward pause.

He turned away, smiling nervously, trying to keep some knightly dignity. However, that was completely abandoned when he suddenly let out a yelp, going ramrod straight and covering his rear with both hands.

Turning around, he saw a red-faced Mel pointing furiously at Branky with her free hand. The puppet just grinned predatorily, shaking with demented laughter.

Borus sweated, keeping the nervous grin plastered on his now crimson face as he edged backward toward the doorway. Upon reaching it, he turned and bolted, slamming the door behind him. Propping it shut, he heard a loud commotion from inside.

"I can't believe how horrid you acted! Bad Branky!"

A loud pounding erupted inside, and Branky began to squeal loudly.

"Ow! Ow! I'm not, ow sorry! Ow! It was, ow, worth, ow, it! Hee hee… OW!!!"

Borus sweated.

"At least now I have a story to beat out Percival with the 'weirdest fangirl ever' thing…" he muttered.


	3. Speed Griffon

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A Suikoden III Short. Usual disclaimers apply.

Main Characters: Hugo, Lucia, Luce, Aila, and Fubar

Pairings Warning: None

Chapters Read: Set before the events of Suikoden III, but probably a good idea to play through Hugo 1 and Geddoe 1 just to know the characters.

Explanation: Again, inspired by one of Kidd's profiles: specifically, the first inquiry. Also an excuse to play with a chibi-Hugo, Aila and Fubar.

~ * Speed Griffon * ~

"No!"

Lucia scowled. She simply couldn't understand it. She was a feared warrior, chief of the Karaya Clan, respected and beloved. Everyone in the village followed her orders without question – all save one.

"Young man, do as I say…"

"No! I don't wanna!"

Why? Why couldn't she get this one person to do as she wished without a struggle?

"Listen to your…"

"Don't hafta, don't wanna! Nyaaah!"

The stubborn brat pulled on one eyelid and stuck out his tongue. Lucia's left eye twitched.

Apparently, her blood ran too thick through this one's veins.

"Hugo, you are going to take your nap if I have to tie you to your bed with my whip again," she threatened, unfolding her arms and reaching for her weapon even as she spoke.

"No! No, no, no, no, NO!"

Hugo turned and scampered off as fast as his four-year-old legs would take him. Lucia's eye twitched again, twice.

"Hugo, come back here--!" she roared, taking off after him.

Yes, her bloodline was very strong in this little one. Lucia could think of no other explanation for how the stubborn brat was able to evade her. Said blood currently burned in her own veins as she thought of how ridiculous she must look, chasing her only son around the village as she was currently doing.

(Imagine, the Karayan Chief running around like an amateur hunter. The Zexen ironheads would surely laugh if they could see me now.)

Certainly her own tribemates were enjoying a good chuckle at her expense right now. The ripples of laughter coursing through the scattered onlookers only increased when she made a diving leap for Hugo, failed (when had the boy gotten so FAST?!), and ended up skidding several inches face first in the muddy path that wound through the center of the village.

Grunting, Lucia pushed herself up and glared at all in the immediate vicinity. Only one of those who fell under her blazing gaze did not instantly recoil and retreat. Instead, the large woman merely laughed all the louder. Lucia narrowed her eyes: had it been anyone other than Luce, she would have been both surprised and enraged. As it was, she merely accepted her friend's offered hand with a grumbled curse and a terse "Thanks…"

"Lucia, Lucia," Luce clucked her tongue and shook her head in mock disapproval, dark eyes gleaming mischievously. "Still can't get the sprat to sleep, hmm?"

"You would think after four years of this I'd have gotten better at this mothering thing," the Karayan Chief replied curtly.

"Patience, child, patience," soothed Luce. "That one's got your fire burning inside, that's for sure! I expect he'll always be a tough one to rein in."

"There's a comforting thought," deadpanned Lucia.

There was a certain gleam in her violet eyes, however, that belied her own fierce pride in her only son. Luce smiled knowingly and looked down at the small bundle she coddled protectively against her chest. A patch of fiery crimson locks crowned the babe's small head, and she idly wondered what this one would put her through, as he grew into a fine young man…

Meanwhile, sensing his mother was not hot on his trail for now, little Hugo had come to a halt behind a huge boulder at the edge of the village. The boy crouched on the ground, huffing and wheezing. His dark-tipped bangs fell into his sweaty face, refusing to stay put when he shoved them away.

He hated to admit it, but his mom was fast! This was a very bad thing, seeing as how she was so much bigger and stronger than Hugo was. If she also became faster than him, she could make him do whatever she wanted – like, for example, taking a nap when he wasn't sleepy at all!

Nope, not the least bit sleepy. His eyes were just droopy. So was his head…

The little boy's chin dropped down to rest lightly against his chest, his ragged breathing easing into a slower pattern. Just as his turquoise eyes were about to completely shut, however…

"Surrounded by ironheads!"

Hugo's eyes shot open and his small body tensed just as another, slightly larger body slammed into him at full speed. Pouncer and pouncee went rolling end over end until finally coming to a halt, leaving the young chief's son flat on his back and staring up at his grinning attacker. Their hands pushed down on his shoulders, their chest pressed against his chest, their long, curly hair tickled his face.

"Pinned ya," laughed Aila gaily, a lopsided grin on her face.

The satisfied five-year-old then got up and strutted away, head held high pridefully. Behind her, Hugo sat up and glared.

"S'not fair," he griped, folding his arms and pouting.

"Aw, you're just saying that 'cause I won," Aila pointed out, turning back to her playmate and smiling widely.

"Nuh-uh! Just 'cause you're bigger than me doesn't mean you're better!" Hugo sprang to his feet and insisted.

"Shh! I thought you didn't wanna get caught by your mommy!"

Hugo responded to Aila's mocking warning with an exaggerated pout. The older girl giggled merrily, ignoring his angry face. Soon, seeing his pouting was having no effect, the chief's son thought of something else he could do instead. He turned and hurried off, Aila right on his heels the second she realized something was up.

"Hey, Hugo! Where are you off to?"

"I wanna go see Fubar again!"

The two Karayan youngsters hurried to the makeshift nest at the edge of the village. Upon reaching it, the friends stared in awe at the majestic creature curled up inside, and Hugo reached out to stroke the downy feathers crowning its head.

Aila winced involuntarily at the sight of her playmate's hand so dangerously near the animal's sharp beak. Even though she knew Fubar was a gentle young griffon, and seemed to share an especially close bond with young Hugo… He was still a lot bigger than even the both of them combined.

Aila wasn't really sure why that was. The griffon was actually younger than her, roughly the same age as Hugo: he had been born during the same season as the chief's son. Fubar was the only griffon in the village, so she didn't have any adults to base her concept of what size one his age should be… But she was certain he was bigger than any of the other children in Karaya Village.

The fact that he was so much bigger didn't seem to faze Hugo any, however. The boy continued to stroke the fluffy white feathers covering Fubar's neck, while the young griffon screeched and craned lazily. Hugo smiled happily, then suddenly paused in his ministrations, a thoughtful glint in his turquoise eyes.

…Uh-oh. Aila had seen that sort of gleam in Hugo's eyes before, and it never meant anything good.

"What are you thinking, Hugo?" she asked, giving her friend a wary look.

"How fast do you think Fubar is?"

"Um… I dunno. Pretty fast, I guess."

"Hmm…"

Hugo smiled slowly. Aila definitely didn't like that smile: it usually signaled trouble even more often than that glint in his eyes did. She opened her mouth to say something again, then choked, eyes bulging as the boy latched onto the griffon's side and began to pull himself up.

"What are you doing?!" she demanded incredulously, taking a fearful step back.

"Lookit, Fubar's kinda built like one of our horses, right?" Hugo said, swinging one leg over the griffon's back and scrambling to pull himself into a seated position.

"Wha?" Aila shook her head. "You'd better not be thinking what I think you're thinking…"

Hugo ignored her. The chief's son managed to right himself and looked around, mightily pleased with himself. Fubar cooed curiously and stood up, causing the boy to gasp and grab onto those downy neck feathers to keep from toppling right off. The griffon's wings flexed slightly, but Hugo didn't feel the body beneath him grow tense in any way. Stroking Fubar's neck, he looked at Aila and smirked.

"See? It's just like one of our horses," he declared proudly. "Nothing to it!"

"Oh, sure. Just like a horse, if you don't mind the fur and paws and wings and feathers and beak…"

"You're just jealous 'cause he likes me more than you," smugly replied Hugo, crossing his arms.

"Am not!"

"Am too!"

"Am not!"

"Am too, am too, am TOO!"

"Am not, am not, am NOT!"

Aila stamped her foot hard to punctuate her last protest. Unfortunately, she failed to notice that her foot was a little too close to Fubar's docilely swaying tail…

"KUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEE!!"

The griffon took off like a shot, blowing Aila off her feet as the tail she had just treaded on was yanked out from underneath her. Hugo cried out and latched onto Fubar's neck with both little arms, turquoise eyes huge with shock.

Meanwhile, back in the main part of the village, Lucia stomped her foot in disgust.

"Where is that no-good son of mine?!" she shouted irritably.

"KUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEE!!"

The Karayan Chief blinked at the shrill screeching sound. Something huge and tan and loud went rushing past her at full speed, and her clothes billowed in the current of disrupted wind. Then there was a tremendous crash, and Lucia turned and sprinted in the direction of the clamor.

She blinked again at the sight she found: a neat griffon-shaped hole had been made in the side of her hut. Peering inside, Lucia stared briefly at her little son lying upside-down against the back of a griffon. All of their legs were pointed up in midair, and both griffon and boy were spiral-eyed.

Lucia's eye twitched once again. Then a rueful smile pursed her lips.

"Now will you take your nap?" she asked sarcastically.

"…No," was the woozy reply.


	4. Untrustworthy Tipster

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A Suikoden III Short. Usual disclaimers apply.

Main Characters: Kidd, Estella, Belle, Mel, and Branky

Pairings Warning: …Maybe very mild, one-sided Kidd/Mel if you stretch it…

Chapters Read: Up to Chapter 4, with Kidd, Estella, and Goro's bath acquired

Explanation: While considering material for bath sequences that, for one reason or another, never made it into the game, I came up with this little short. While I despise Estella normally, her bad habit does make for some interesting ideas. Especially when it comes to the potential that seems to lie inherently with having her get involved with Kidd in any matter…

~ * Untrustworthy Tipster * ~

Kidd closed his eyes and sank into the warm water, sighing in appreciation of the heated liquid caressing his swollen body. Today had been another noteworthy series of cases for the junior detective! All sorts of people had approached him seeking out information about other residents of the castle.

The always lovely Lady Chris sent him tailing after Jimba for the longest time, trying to dredge up any sort of interesting news about him. Kidd wasn't really sure why she was so interested in the Karayan warrior, but all she'd offered for explanation was that she was trying to figure out what he'd meant by something he'd said to her during a previous encounter. Sadly, all he'd been able to uncover was Jimba's hobbies and the fact that he liked to help out in the kitchen.

Later, Melville had visited asking if Kidd could find out anything about his errant father Billy. Apparently, the grizzled cowboy had been absent from his normal post for a while, and the too-serious boy was worried he had vanished again. As it had turned out, Billy had been merely off getting into a drinking and gambling contest with Mike. Ironically enough, the former ended up winning the drinking contest, while the latter won hands-down with gambling.

What had worn him down, however, was when Hugo requested some more information on the mysterious sorceress Viki… or, rather, chibi-Viki, the little one that had just appeared. Unfortunately, not only did she have an uncanny knack for detecting when he was trying to case her out, she always responded by teleporting him somewhere. He'd made three hikes too many over the course of the day, and was completely beat. The warm water was just the thing to help his sore muscles relax…

He debated the merits of taking a short snooze inside the tub, but before he could come to a conclusion, his experienced ears picked up on the familiar sound of hushed conversation taking place nearby. The boy detective was immediately alert, sitting upright and straining to pick up on the soft strains of voices.

It only took a few minutes for his sharp mind to deduce that the discussion was occurring on the women's side of the bath. Briefly, his curiosity warred with his common sense: he knew many of the female residents wouldn't take too kindly to any male, no matter how young, butting in on their business in the bath.

Curiosity naturally won out. After all, all he was doing was listening in, and that wouldn't hurt anybody, right…?

Edging closer to the barrier that divided the bath into gender-specific sections, Kidd pressed his ear against the wood. As he listened, he mentally matched voices to names and faces, calling upon his heightened observation skills and finely honed memory.

"I've got the most wonderful secret to tell you, and it's only for your ears, little girl," proclaimed a silky-smooth female voice that Kidd soon recognized as belonging to Estella, an accomplished fire wizardress that had recently arrived at the castle.

"Yeah? What is it?" asked an interested Belle.

"Well, you know that young lady who carries that puppet around all the time?"

"You mean Mel?"

"Yes, that's right? Do you know why she wears that strange doll everywhere she goes?"

"No, do you?" There was a hint of skepticism in Belle's tone, but it clashed with the obvious interest that also marked it.

"Yes, dearie, of course I do. My senses are very finely tuned when it comes to all things natural and…" Estella paused dramatically and took a breath, "supernatural."

(Natural and supernatural?)

Kidd's eyebrows rose in a high arch, and he inhaled sharply – a little too sharply, he worried for a moment. However, if the girls on the other side of the fence overheard his contained gasp, they showed no sign of it, perhaps too caught up in their conversation to notice.

"You see, my dear, sweet girl, Mel has a certain… condition she doesn't wish people to find out about. She fears that if anybody knew of her illness, she'd be shunned and cast out of society."

"And yet you know what it is?" Belle asked frankly, a bit more disbelief tainting her tone.

"Yes, my sweet child. I know you've taken a bit of an interest in her, and you must be curious as to why she totes that puppet around." There was a pause, in which Kidd assumed the inventor must be nodding agreement, and then Estella continued, "That's why I've decided to tell you this, but of course, you mustn't let anyone else know what you've learned!"

"Trust me," replied Belle frankly, "my lips are sealed."

"Good girl! You see, Mel's actually a lycanthrope – a bit of a werewolf, as it were. Her rune enables her to take the form of a raging canine beast with fur black as midnight and white as snow… not to mention eyes as cold as ice and fangs the size of your finger."

"Really?" Belle didn't exactly sound convinced.

"But, ah, here's the catch: the rune's influence has transformed the hand that wears it into a hideous transmutation of human and beastly features. Her right hand is completely covered with thick fur, her fingers tipped with long, deadly claws. That's why she wears that puppet and pretends it's alive: to keep people from questioning its presence. After all, what would you rather be seen as: a strange girl with a living doll – or a hideous beast in the guise of a girl with the paw of a monster?"

"I…think I'll be getting out now," Belle said after a long pause.

"It's true!" Estella called as the young mechanic exited the bath. "Every word!"

On the other side of the wall, Kidd had plastered himself against the wood, ebony eyes wide with astonishment. He couldn't believe what he'd just overheard…! What a fantastic tale the sorceress had just related…! This definitely warranted investigating…

~ * ~

That night, a short figure crept out the side entrance of the castle and made his way as quickly and quietly as possible to the Inn. Kidd was now firmly in detective mode, his trademark red mask strapped over his face.

Crossing the courtyard, the young investigator considered his options for a moment. While the quickest way into the establishment would be the front door, there was also the most chance for detection going that route. Noticing that several barrels were stacked by one wall, Kidd opted to climb up those and enter through a second-story window.

This plan worked just perfectly… until he got to the top of the stack and realized he came just a little short of the edge. Resting his chin in his hands, Kidd thought deeply for a few seconds, absently tapping his foot.

He came out of his musings when the barrels began to shift under his weight. The investigator windmilled his arms frantically as he started to lose his balance, then, just as the stack gave way, took a chance and jumped, barely latching onto the windowsill.

Kidd quickly pulled himself up, trying to ignore the clamor the collapsing stack caused outside. He was in, and that was the important thing, right?

With all the stealth and speed his experiences as a private investigator had taught him, Kidd crept through the Inn until he found the room Mel was staying in. Carefully he tested the doorknob, and was both relieved and surprised to find it unlocked. Relieved because it meant he didn't have to try going back outside and entering through a different window; surprised because he had figured from Estella's story that she would leave the door locked to protect her secret.

(But then, perhaps she doesn't believe anybody here would have reason to suspect the true nature of her secret…)

With that justification, Kidd eased the door open and peeked inside. The chamber had been one of the single-person rooms before Mel had moved in and fixed it up to her tastes. It was simply furnished, the bed pulled up close to the window so that the girl could wake up when the sun rose. Now, however, only moonlight and starlight bathed the sleeping girl curled up underneath the downy covers.

Kidd carefully crossed the room until he was standing at Mel's bedside, gazing down at the girl. The detective blushed; he'd never come into a girl's room like this before even for an investigation, and the ventriloquist was rather cute when she was dozing. Her soft brown hair, freed from its usual pink bow, drifted freely around her peaceful, composed face.

She didn't look that much like a sleeping werewolf… not that Kidd had ever seen one before to cross-reference against.

Reminding himself why he had come here in the first place, Kidd looked over the sleeping girl and soon spotted her right arm folded up beside her. Branky was, naturally, still covering her hand. Kidd took a deep breath, then leaned over the snoozing Mel so that he could reach it.

Carefully… carefully he wrapped his fingers around the lupine puppet's neck. Then, with a sudden yank, he attempted to slip it off of Mel's arm without awakening her.

The key word being 'attempted'.

Branky's big blue eyes bulged with surprise, then narrowed, gleaming dangerously.

Kidd's eyes bulged with surprise, and the investigator screamed, yanking his hand back when a sharp pain shot through it.

Mel's eyes bulged with surprise, then she shot up straight in her bed, staring at the boy as he cradled his injured, bitten hand with the other.

"You… PERVERT!"

A massive explosion rocked the night as flames erupted from a certain window in the Inn, and the force of the blast propelled out a small human figure straight out of the opening and through the darkened skies.

~ * ~

Early the next morning, Cecile took up her post at the castle gates. When she noticed a lone figure slowly approaching, the captain of the guards immediately snapped to attention, pointing her spear directly at the stranger.

"Halt! Who goes there?" she demanded in her best 'take no prisoners' tone.

"Ease up, Cecile," the trespasser coughed, holding up blackened hands. "It's just me."

"Hmm?"  


Cecile recognized the voice as familiar, but it took her a while to place it. Leaning forward to investigate, she studied the short, charred figure for a few seconds before her eyes widened with recognition.

"Kidd? What happened to you? Were you attacked outside the castle?"

The well-done investigator shook his head slowly, flecks of soot falling from his naturally black hair.

"Let's just say… I learned to review my sources a little more clearly…"

With that, the junior detective collapsed, leaving a surprised and mildly concerned Cecile staring at his unconscious figure slumped on the steps she guarded.


	5. Fashion Nonsense

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A Suikoden III Short. Usual disclaimers apply.

Main Characters: Geddoe, Ace, Joker, Queen, Jacques, and Aila

Pairings Warning: …Rabid fans of Jacques/Aila may find hints of that if they want…

Chapters Read: Geddoe 1-2 finished and Geddoe 3 begun.

Explanation: Selecting the perfect disguise for their resident naïve Karayan girl was a bit more difficult than what we were allowed to see…

~ * Fashion Nonsense * ~

"I don't see the point of this," griped Aila. "I mean, even the ironheads aren't stupid enough to fall for something like this."

"I don't see why you're complaining," Queen retorted. "Most girls your age would love the chance to pick out a brand new outfit without having to worry about paying for it themselves."

"Maybe where you're from," Aila shot back. "But Karayan warriors don't obsess over such silly things."

Queen's eyebrow twitched slightly, but she merely replied dryly, "Then stop obsessing over this and just pick something out."

The tan girl huffed and leaned against the wall, folding her arms. She couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. She happened to like her battle leathers very much; why did she need to pick out an entirely different outfit?

It wasn't like it was going to change the fact that she was a young Karayan warrior. It wasn't like any ironhead who didn't have dirt for brains wouldn't be able to tell her proud Grasslander heritage just by the fact she was going to be wearing more 'modern' (she rolled her eyes at that term) fashion.

So why were her new mercenary companions convinced it was going to enable her to waltz right into Vinay de Zexay like she lived there?!

However, she had to face facts – she wasn't about to talk Geddoe out of this… or anything else, for that matter. Like it or not, Aila would have to pick out some articles of more 'ironhead-friendly' clothing and get used to wearing it.

Dragging her heels, the proud and stubborn archer began looking unenthusiastically through the selection ranging before her. A Calerian merchant looked on, full of the eagerness and excitement she should have felt, ready to offer unsolicited advice on what kind of outfit suited her best.

"Now, sweetheart, for you, I'm thinking some nice contrast of colors would be best," he remarked in an odd, nasal voice, indicating a rack next to him. "No offense, but earth tones are so last season. Right now, everything's bright and flashy – Red! Orange! Yellow! Gold! All the colors of a brilliant fire! It's the latest rage in Harmonia!"

"…No thanks," Aila muttered, eyeing the salesperson with a disturbed expression.

She unconsciously decided to take a page from Jacques' book and proceeded to tune out the merchant's impassioned ramblings, quietly thumbing through stacks of clothing. If she absolutely had to choose a new outfit, she was going to ensure it was something she'd like – not the 'latest craze in Such-and-Such'.

The main thing she wanted was something that wouldn't be too constricting. She needed plenty of freedom of movement if she was going to keep fighting with her new allies and friends against whatever had destroyed her village. She couldn't be tripping over her heels or treading on some fluffy, oversized skirt, that was for sure.

She also needed something that would 'breathe'. Aila enjoyed feeling the gentle caress of the fickle wind against her bare skin, even when it carried a frosty bite or heavy warmth. So she definitely wasn't going to bundle up in something that would cut her off from the breeze's touch.

It had to be lightweight, too. She couldn't risk getting weighted down by unnecessary accessories and other useless junk. A simple design, that's what she wanted…!

Aila stopped rifling through the ranks abruptly and stared round-eyed at the article she'd just come across. The make was a bit odd, but it looked promising…! She quickly picked it up and hurried over to the dressing room to change.

~ * ~

"I still think this is a waste of money," griped Ace, leaning against the wall with arms folded stubbornly over his chest.

"Will you stop complaining?" Joker demanded, glaring at the mercenary accountant. "I say it's a good plan."

"Like the Zexens won't be able to tell she's a Karayan just by looking at her skin?!"

"If you've got a better plan, then let's hear it," prompted Queen.

"………It's a waste of money," Ace repeated lamely, looking away from the others.

Geddoe and Jacques didn't bother to add their two cents to the conversation. The leader of the Twelfth Unit of the Southern Frontier Defense Force and the withdrawn marksman just leaned against the wall facing the door of the shop Aila had been ushered into and waited silently for her to return.

"…And another thing! How long does it take for a woman to pick out a single damn outfit!" spat the disgruntled Ace, pushing away from the wall and waving his arms in the air for emphasis.

Queen opened her mouth to give another scornful retort, but Aila chose that moment to step out of the shop modeling the outfit she'd found.

"Well? How does this look?" she prompted, looking expectantly at the five mercenaries.

They didn't answer right away. The quintet simply stared at her in awed silence. Geddoe's one good eye looked fit to bug right out of its socket, and the others were faring no better. Even the typically blank-faced Jacques was looking rather odd, as his pale white cheeks turned blushing pink.

Aila blinked in confusion. She couldn't understand why her five friends were staring so strangely at her. The Karayan looked down at her new clothes, trying to figure out why they garnered such a reaction.

…Well, it fit what she had been looking for, in a sense. It was very unrestricting, consisting of barely enough bright red fabric to wrap around her chest and waist. There was a strange, sheer substance connecting the two main pieces together, but it wasn't blocking against the pleasant breeze currently wafting through the desert town.

About the only thing she didn't really like about the outfit was the strange headgear that was included. All the same, she'd put on the odd-looking headband with its fluffy extensions, figuring that she'd just stand out if she didn't complete the 'look'.

"Well, how does it look?" she repeated, turning around on her heel to give them a full view of her back.

Ace and Joker both snorted and immediately turned to face the wall, covering their faces with both hands. Aila immediately was concerned: when had they taken such serious wounds to their heads? She hadn't seen any sign of blood before, but she'd gotten a glimpse of bright crimson before they'd turned around…

Come to think of it, Jacques' face, though still expressionless, had turned a bright crimson.

"Jacques, are you getting sick?" Aila asked concernedly, leaning forward to feel the other archer's forehead.

It didn't feel too warm, but now the poor pale boy was practically beet red.

Geddoe closed his eye and cleared his throat, sounding remarkably uneasy. Aila looked over at him.

"Geddoe? Are you feeling sick too?" she wondered.

Queen quickly stepped forward and grabbed the younger girl by the wrist.

"Say, Aila, why don't you let me help you pick out something?" she suggested, a strange-looking smile on her face.

"What? But I like this one…"

"So do the guys," Queen muttered under her breath, pushing the confused Karayan girl back into the shop.

After the girls both disappeared back into the clothing store, Geddoe heaved a heavy sigh and rubbed his aching forehead. He then looked over at the other male members of the Twelfth Unit. Jacques' heavy blush was fading quite nicely, and his expression still hadn't changed. Ace and Joker gradually got their vicious coughing and choking fits under control, though both still kept their hands clamped over the bottom half of their faces.

"…Say, Boss?"

"…What, Ace?" the dark-haired commander half-sighed.

"…I humbly retract my previous complaint."

"…Hn."


	6. Show Me Your Pride as a Zexen Knight!

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A Suikoden III Short. Usual disclaimers apply.

Main Characters: Chris, Borus, Percival, Leo, Salome, Roland, Louis, Hugo and Lilly

Pairings Warning: None

Chapters Read: Up to Chapter 4

Explanation: The result of working late one night on a chapter of 'Star Pyre' focusing on the Saint Loa Knights while imbibing excessive amounts of soda.

~ * Show Me Your Pride as a Zexen Knight! * ~

"I still say this is the stupidest thing you humans have come up with yet."

"I will admit I can understand what you mean, Roland," Salome gave a long-suffering sigh before continuing, "But we must humor the boys now and then…"

"Hey, Roland's the same age as Percival and only a year older than Borus, plus I'm over a decade older than the lot of them, so how come he talks about us like we're a bunch of kids?" griped Leo.

"Physically, our bodies may be the same age," Roland shrugged indifferently. "But mentally…"

"Oh, loosen up," chided Percival. The spiky-haired knight stretched his arms out behind his head, looking over at the stern-faced elf. "You can't be serious all the time."

"Watch me."

"At least try to have fun with this," Percival sighed.

"When's Lady Chris coming back?" Borus whined, chin in his palm and looking bored. "She said she'd only take a few minutes to find them…"

"Patience, my dear Borus. I believe that is her and our guests now."

The quintet of Zexen Knights all turned around and watched their captain jog over to where they were standing. Louis, the Silver Maiden's trusty squire, was close behind her, leading two others over to where the esteemed warriors were waiting. 

"Sorry we took so long," apologized Chris. "It took longer than I expected to find either of them, even with Louis's help."

"So what's this all about, anyway?" Hugo asked, looking around at the gathered ironheads questioningly.

It seemed rather unusual to the young Karayan warrior for all six Zexen Knights and their squire to be gathered somewhere other than their quarters on the ship/lakeside chambers of Budehuc Castle. Yet not only had they all gathered in this field on the outskirts of the castle grounds, but they'd called him over to join them. Hugo wondered if they wished to train with him – but, if that was the cause, why not say so directly? And why…

"Yes, do tell." Lilly rested her fists against her hips in her familiar 'I'm-upset-because-nobody-TELLS-me-these-things' posture.

"Well, a few days ago, Borus and Percival proposed something to the rest of the knights that they thought we should try," Chris explained, looking over at the two as she named them. "I'm not so sure about this, honestly, but they were insistent…"

"It's a good idea," Percival insisted with a charming smile. "Besides, it never hurts to try something new, right?"

"…So we've been practicing what they suggested, and I thought we should get some outside opinions before we started trying it out on a more regular basis." Chris looked seriously at their two guests. "Hugo, you're the new Flame Champion, and Lilly, you're a good friend, so I'll trust both of you to be brutally honest with us, okay?"

"Sure, fine," shrugged Hugo.

"This had better be good," Lilly warned. "I didn't even get the chance to tell Reed and Samus I was leaving Budehuc for a bit…"

"Trust me, this is pretty good," assured Louis, smiling. "I've been watching them practice, and Lady Chris has improved especially…"

"Kissass," Borus muttered under his breath.

"Did you say something, Borus?" wondered Chris, looking over at the Swordsman of Rage.

"Nothing!" came the quick reply.

"Just get on with it," ordered Lilly impatiently.

"All right then…"

Chris walked over to where the rest of the knights were standing, then turned to face Hugo, Lilly and Louis. The half-dozen soldiers stood at attention, shoulders squared, backs straight, eyes closed. Hugo and Lilly watched expectantly, and, in the latter's case at least, impatiently.

"Knights of Zexen!" Chris barked abruptly, making her two-person audience jump with surprise. "Assemble!"

"Hah!" Borus drew his sword, a fiery aura bursting to life around the blade as he executed a flurry of midair slashes. "The Swordsman of Rage, Boruuuuuuuuus--" his final slash seemed to distort the very air before him as he spun to a halt, blade poised to strike "—Redrum!"

"The Swordsman of Gale," Percival executed a perfect pirouette, an even more amazing feat considering he was clad in armor, and ended up with his back facing the onlookers, glancing over his shoulder, sword planted firmly in the ground, flashing a smile so bright his teeth actually gleamed, "Percival Fraulein!"

"HUWAAAAA!" The heavy axeman of the knights hoisted his weapon high over his head, letting out a battle cry that might even put Hallac to shame. "The Axeman of Stone--" the blade crashed down, nearly splitting the earth while he roared, "Leo Gallen!"

"The Archer of Hail," Roland intoned in a bored voice, sweeping his arms about in graceful, ballerina-esque motions while effortlessly easing an arrow out of his quiver and into his drawn bow, "Roland…" he almost sighed while leveling his bow's sights in front of him, "Lesaurus…"

"The Tactician of Shield," and Salome looked more embarrassed than anything, judging from the healthy pink blush the bridge of his nose sported as he drew his mace and pointed it toward the heavens, "Salome Harras…"

"The Silver Maiden, and Captain of the Zexen Knights…" Chris blushed even pinker than Salome as she spun awkwardly in place, thrusting first her back, then bust out before twirling to a halt, sword pointed outward, "Chris Lightfellow!"

"And her squire," Louis scurried over to stand back to back with his captain, arms stretched out in front of him, "Louis Keeferson!"

"Together we are…"

The seven stood closer together and adopted new poses, Louis standing behind Chris and mirroring her position despite the fact he didn't have a sword to point toward the sky, Borus and Percival standing on either side of their captain, Salome and Roland on the edge, and Leo behind them balancing on one leg.

"The Six Mighty Knights of Zexen!" they finished together.

"So, what do you think?" Chris asked in her normal voice, still in her finishing pose along with the rest of the knights.

For the longest time, Hugo and Lilly just stood stock still, staring at the six knights plus their squire. Somewhere in the distance, Fubar let out a faint screech. The Zexens maintained their poses, waiting patiently for their audience to offer their opinion.

It finally came.

"…Snerk… ggggffth… BWAAAA, HA HA HA HA HA HA…!"

Hugo and Lilly burst out into uncontrollable laughter, practically collapsing into each other for support as the dam finally broke. This didn't work too well, of course, so both Karayan and Tinto were soon sprawled on the grass, hugging each other and laughing their heads off.

Still in their respective poses, the Six Mighty Knights of Zexen and their loyal squire sweated.

"I'll… assume that means it isn't as impressive as we would have hoped…" Salome murmured, staring at the hopelessly laughing pair.

"That's funny," Borus blinked.

"They seem to think so, yes," Louis supplied helpfully

"Hmm… It seemed like a good idea at the time we thought it up," Percival mused.

"Why do I get the feeling massive quantities of alcoholic beverages were involved?" Roland muttered.

"Fellas? My leg's starting to cramp…" warned Leo.

"Um… Would it be better if we ended the speech with, 'In the name of the Flame Champion, we'll punish you?" Chris asked. When the laughter of her friends only increased in volume, she sweated and murmured, "Guess not…"


	7. Like Father Like Pup

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A Suikoden III Short. Usual disclaimers apply.

Main Characters: Muto, Tuta, Mio, Bazba and Peggi

Pairings Warning: None

Chapters Read: Thomas 1-2 helpful, up to Chapter 4

Explanation: One of the comments you can receive in the comment box refers to 'the son of the Kobold warehouse keeper'. I couldn't get the idea out of my head, so I decided to write a short-fic about the incident. Please note that I have no clue what the 'official name' of Muto's son is, so this would be entirely my interpretation.

~ * Like Father Like Pup * ~

Muto stood at his desk, tail wagging, eagerly waiting for somebody to come and request his services. He didn't care if it was to put something away for safekeeping, take something out, or even a request to accompany the Flame Champion's party for a while (though the chances of that last possibility occurring seemed slim to none). All that mattered was helping out his friends and all the newcomers to the castle -- who he considered to be his friends too, even if he really didn't know all of them quite so well as he did people like Master Thomas and Cecille and Eike and Juan and…

Actually, Juan liked to bug Muto a lot about his duties as warehouse keeper, though the Kobold didn't mind this.

'Don't you get bored?' he'd ask now and then. 'Standing around all day looking after stuff that doesn't belong to you? Don't you ever get tired of it?'

Actually the truth was that Muto never got bored. Guard duty wasn't as dull a job as the Bujitsu teacher liked to make it sound. Lots of interesting things happened, lots of stuff that Juan missed because he was usually at his dojo anyway, snoozing away between visits from trainees. Lots and lots and lots of interesting things…

The loud crash from just behind that made Muto nearly jump out of his fur, that was a perfect example.

He turned and bolted into the back room, ears perked upright and looking frantically from side to side as he searched for the source of the sound. It didn't take him long to locate it in the form of a small furry form sprawled on the ground with the remains of what had been sitting on the third shelf from the top from the file in front of him scattered around him. Paying no attention to the broken goods, Muto dropped to his knees next to the figure, pulling it upright.

"Woof! Menchi, are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"It's okay, Daddy! I'm fine, woof!"

The pup grinned toothily, and Muto sighed with relief. It was such a load off his mind to see his son had survived his fall without so much as a scratch – which, unfortunately, could not be said of some of the more breakable objects that had accompanied the pup on his trip down. Oh well. Maybe Duke and his friends wouldn't need those vials of Mega Medicine B, since they always bragged about what great mercenaries they were and all…

Still, even Muto could tell when he had a slight problem. Little Menchi was the most precious possession Muto had, more valuable than everything else in the vault combined. But there was no denying that the four-year-old was a bit…

"Daddy, watch me!" CRASH! "Uh-oh…"

…Klutzy. Hopefully Borus wouldn't notice the fresh new dents in his spare suit of armor. Muto, however, was more concerned with the fact that his son had been buried underneath the heavy metal.

"Menchi!" Hurriedly digging the pup out, Muto gasped in horror when he glimpsed a spot of red forming on his left knee. "Oh, no, woof, you're hurt! Wait here, I'll get the doctor…"

"I'm okay, Daddy, it's just a scratch… Daddy?" Menchi stared at the empty space where his father had been, then at the open door to the vault. "Daddy?"

Muto tore upstairs and through the first floor of the castle, nearly bowling over Yumi, Yuiri and Dios in his haste to get to the guest bedroom-turned-medical ward. He rapped on the door three times rapidly -- it was only polite to knock before entering after all, and Muto always liked to be polite -- then flung it open, heedless of the startled cry that caused or the thump that followed.

"Hi-Doctor-Tuta-can-I-borrow-some-medicine-please?" he blurted out the instant he flung the door open. There was no sign of the doctor, only Mio, staring at the floor in front of him looking mildly concerned. "Mio-hi-wheres-the-doctor?"

"Oh… Hi, Muto," the nurse waved weakly at the Kobold. Gesturing with one hand, she added hesitantly, "The doctor is right… there…"

Muto looked down. Tuta was lying on the floor in front of the doorway, spiral-eyed. Well, that wasn't very helpful, was it? Muto briefly wondered why the doctor was spending time like that, especially when there were people -- and puppies -- that needed immediate assistance from someone like him, but the thought was pushed out of his mind by the more pressing matter of obtaining medicine for his child.

"Mio-can-I-borrow-some-medicine-Ill-pay-you-back-promise!"

"Um… Sure, but you don't have to worry about that…" Mio pointed over to a nearby cabinet, instructing, "There's some vials sitting out right there…"

A tan blur shot past her in the direction of the cabinet then streaked past again seconds later before she could collect herself.

"Thank-you-bye-bye!"

"Oh dear…" Mio blinked, then looked down at the unconscious Tuta. It looked like the doctor was out cold for the time being…

Muto skidded to a stop in front of his desk, setting the vials down. He double-blinked; something hadn't looked quite right when he ran past the Graveyard… Peeking back around the corner, the Kobold's jaw promptly dropped when he got a good look at what he'd glimpsed before.

"Whee--! Daddy, lookit me--!"

Menchi was clearly feeling better, and was happily enjoying swinging off the new perch he'd found when he'd wandered away from his father's workplace. Bazba, however, was clearly not as thrilled as the child. Considering that the kid had clambered up on his back, seized the point of his headgear and was currently swinging off of it, bending the lizard's neck back to an angle that couldn't be comfortable, he had several reasons to not share in the pup's pleasure.

"Get. This kid. Off of me," he grated, in a tone that could have sent chills down even Dupa's spine. "Right. Now."

"Menchi!"

Muto hurriedly extracted his kid from the lizard's headgear, much to Menchi's unhappiness, and backed out of striking range. Bazba grumbled under his breath while massaging his neck with both hands, glaring at the squirming puppy and his parent.

"…You should take better care of your kid," he muttered under his breath, turning his back on the pair. "He's too heavy for his size…"

Muto's sharp hearing picked up the insult, and he flinched, ears drooping. Bazba was right; maybe he did need to take better care of his kid. Were all pups supposed to be this clumsy at this age? He didn't know. Maybe Menchi's klutziness could be fixed? But how? He couldn't get him checked by Tuta right now, seeing as the doctor was sleeping on the floor last he saw him…

"Hey Mister Lizard! Can we play later?" Menchi barked, tail wagging happily.

"No!"

Bazba stomped off, while Muto perked up. The upset lizardman's sharp snap had just reminded him of something…!

~ * ~

The steady sound of hammering against steel and metal continuously rang loud and clear from the blacksmith's shop. When he wasn't working on making somebody's weapon harder, better, faster and stronger, Peggi often spent his free time forging knick-knacks out of scraps sitting around the place. Any work was good work in the lizard's eyes, and he'd been able to create some… unique things from otherwise useless oddments he'd found lying around.

However, he was always attuned to the footfalls outside, always listening for a pair to draw closer to his workplace. Peggi wasn't about to keep some customer waiting on his account, no sir…!

So it didn't take him long to react when he heard the sound of rapid approach over the familiar rhythm of the pounding hammer and the snoring from next door. Shouldering his trusty hammer, Peggi turned to greet his guest with a hearty smile and a booming "Hello…!!!"

Then he noticed exactly who his visitor was, and actually trailed off in surprise. The Kobold warehouse keeper was standing in front of his stall, balancing what looked remarkably like a miniature version of himself on his shoulder. Peggi blinked and cocked his head to one side.

"Hello…!!" There was a bit of confusion in his greeting, dampening its usual enthusiasm. "Did you bring something for Peggi to fix…!!"

"Uh-huh," nodded Muto. Setting the mini-Muto down in front of him, hands on the pup's shoulders, he asked, "Could you please hammer little Menchi here into shape, please?"

"Menchi!!"

Peggi wondered if this was like that 'Branky' weapon the girl with the bow hauled around. It had taken him a while to figure out how to sharpen the wolf-thing's claws, and its squirming and squealing hadn't helped… Still, he couldn't deny anybody the chance to strengthen their weapon.

"Sure, sure!!! Set Menchi right up here, then!!!" he invited, patting the anvil invitingly.

Muto nodded, and walked Menchi over to the anvil. Instead of seating him on the anvil right away, however, the warehouse keeper knelt in front of the pup, face to face with him, hands still gripping his shoulders.

"Okay, now, Menchi, be good for the nice blacksmith, he's going to fix it so you won't trip over your own two feet anymore," he told the boy.

"Really, Daddy?" Menchi blinked at him. "That'll be neat, woof!"

(DADDY!!!! SON!!!! WHAT THE--!!!!) Peggi thought.

"What's going on here!!!!" he bellowed, startling his guests.

"I was just telling Menchi you were going to fix him so that he won't…"

"Peggi doesn't fix kids!!!! Peggi fixes weapons!!!!!"

"What? …Oh," Muto looked considerably crestfallen at this. His floppy ears drooped. "I just thought that…"

"Hey, Daddy, what's that up there?"

Menchi scrabbled to climb up on the anvil to reach the shelves above it, but ended up banging his scraped knee against the hard surface in the process. The pup paused, looked down at his leg, then back up at the adults. Tears welled up in his big brown eyes, and he promptly burst into tears.

"Oh, no, Menchi--!"

Muto immediately dropped to his knees to comfort his sobbing son, while Peggi watched, distinctly uncomfortable. The blacksmith didn't know exactly what was going on, but understood that the Kobold had come seeking assistance. He couldn't offer what the warehouse keeper had wanted, but…

Peggi turned and reached up to another shelf, then turned back to his guests and crouched down. Muto stopped panicking and looked in confusion over at the large blacksmith, and Menchi stopped crying long enough to see what the lizard was holding.

"Now this… Peggi can fix," Peggi told them.

He quickly and expertly applied the healing medicine to the pup's knee, watching as the trickle of blood matting the fur disappeared. Menchi stopped sniffling, blinked, then flung his arms around the crouching lizard's neck.

"Thank you, Mister Peggi!" he barked joyfully.

"Thanks, Peggi!" echoed Muto, glomping his neck as well. "Woof!"

"No problem… but… could you let go…!! Peggi need air, too!!!"


	8. Erk and the Accursed Block of Writer’s B...

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A Suikoden III Short. Usual disclaimers apply.

Main Characters: Ace

Pairings Warning: Does Erk/Marine count?

Chapters Read: Up to Chapter Four; assumes you know of Hitman Bravo's hit(?) series 'Erk's Adventures'

Explanation: All writers deal with this in some fashion, sooner or later… Oh, and be warned, there's a bit of… questionable content thanks to Ace… nothing too major, though.

~ * Erk and the Accursed Block of Writer's Bane * ~

/Erk entered the dungeon looking for treasure. But there in front of him, instead of riches, was something terrible! It was huge! It was hideous! It was…/

/…It was…/

"Crap," muttered Ace, crumpling the sheet of paper in both hands and pitching it over his shoulder into the trash.

The mercenary/accountant/writer/ladies' man rested his chin against his desk, resisting the urge to slam his head against the mahogany surface repeatedly. Ever since the first semi-successful run of Erk's Adventures in the Budehuc Times (semi-successful meaning that to his knowledge nobody had petitioned to have it yanked from the paper), Ace had been trying to come up with some sort of follow-up.

Arthur was actually reprinting the run of short chapters, so that meant there must be some sort of audience out there, right? And as an author, it was Ace's duty to give the fans more of what they loved: Adventure! Action! Excitement! Something to keep them coming back for more tales from Hitman Bravo!

Ace was fairly sure he had the formula down. The trick was to leave a hook at the end of each installment, the promise of a problem that would be confronted and hopefully resolved in the next issue. You had to keep the audience coming back to see what happened next to your hero, and how Erk got out of each dangerous predicament.

Erk in danger! _Classic._ Pure gold.

Pity Ace still wasn't sure where he was going to take the series next. When he last left off, Erk had defeated the bad guy and saved the girl, and they had wealth and love and happiness. All well and good, except for the fact that it wasn't exactly a great starting point for another story.

Tapping a finger thoughtfully against the wooden surface, Ace considered his options. Maybe immediately sending Erk off on another adventure wasn't the best tack he could take. After all, the guy had plenty of good things going for him right now; why not let him enjoy them for a bit?

Picking up his pen, Ace started over on a fresh sheet of paper:

/"Erk, let me repay your kindness," Marine panted, undoing the front of her jacket and revealing her curvy female assets. Capturing Erk's mouth with her own, she grabbed his sweaty hands, guiding them over her supple flesh and onto her heaving…/

Ace cut himself off and folded the paper up, slipping it into one of his pockets, swarthy face flushed with faint red. He couldn't submit that to Arthur; it'd never see print. The newspaper wasn't quite the right form of media for that sort of writing.

(Okay, that wasn't the best idea. Now what?)

Ace's chin fell into one hand, the fingers of the other drumming against the desktop. If romance was out of the question, then what else could he try? Hmm… he often read advice that claimed it was best to write what one knew. Flattening another sheet in front of him, he began anew:

/Erk cursed his rotten luck while approaching the dungeon. He wouldn't have needed the riches rumored to be inside if he and his friends hadn't blown most of what he'd brought back from his last adventure on booze and female company…/

Another wad of paper ricocheted off the side of the bin as Ace cursed his rotten luck. (Damnit, that's not gonna work either! Think, Ace, think! What could possibly be valuable enough for Erk to go on a quest for it? Hmm… Let's see…)

/Erk looked at the sealed door before him and wondered if the rumors were true. It was said a True Rune lay beyond – and not just any True Rune, either! It was the True Rune of…/

/…the True Rune…/

(Think, Ace, think!)

/…the True Jongleur Rune…/

(…Nah, maybe not. Sounds more like something that elf chick and her friends would go after. Not Erk's style…)

/…True Dash Rune…/

(Yeah, right, like that would exist. Next…)

/…True Blinking Rune…/

(Nope, probably not a good idea,) Ace decided, thinking of Viki – both of them – and shuddering for some reason.

/…True Firefly Rune…/

(_No._ As great an excuse that would be to have things keep happening to him, I'm not that cheap… yet.)

/…True Rune of DOOOOOOOOM!/

(Too cliché.)

/…True Player Rune! The True Rune fabled to attract the girls like nobody's business!/

"Or not," Ace muttered aloud, crumbling the paper and sending it to join its mates in the trash.

(What I need is the True Writing Rune,) he decided with an inward sigh and a rueful smirk, picking up the rest of his non-ruined papers and tucking them safely away as he gave up for the day. (Well, maybe tomorrow I'll get some actual work done…)

Vacating his secret spot in the corner of the library -- nobody ever disturbed him there, though it wasn't disturbances that had been his problem today -- Ace trudged to the room he shared with his comrades. The room was already darkened, the others having probably already turned in for the night.

It wasn't until Ace's head hit the pillow that the idea hit. His eyes widened in self-amazement: how could he not have seen it before? It was the perfect idea, a completely original and unique way to continue Erk's ongoing adventures that nobody would ever see coming and everyone would love!

Pity he was too damn tired to move from his nice comfy bed and trudge all the way back upstairs to his writing nook.

(I'll get it down tomorrow,) he promised himself, a wide smile on his face as he drifted off to sweet, sweet slumber.

~ * ~

The next morning, Ace vaulted out of bed, completely invigorated and eager to get cracking on his latest storyline! The mercenary hurried upstairs, not even bothering to take the elevator: bolting up the stairs was quicker than waiting for it to arrive at his floor. Upon reaching the library, Ace spread his writing equipment out on the desk, set down a piece of paper, set his pen to it and…

/Erk…/

The aggravated scream that followed echoed through the entire castle.

"Sir, please remain quiet in the library," Eike chided in his calm, even tone. "People are trying to concentrate…"

Ace didn't answer. He was too busy banging his head repeatedly against the table.


	9. The Waiting Game

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A Suikoden III Short. Usual disclaimers apply.

Main Characters: Sergeant Jordi, Fubar, Mua, Hallec, Landis, Fred, Rico, Nash, Ace, Queen, Joker, Jacques, and Aila

Pairings Warning: None

Chapters Read: All three chapters completed for Hugo, Chris and Geddoe, and Chapter 4 begun

Explanation: Come on, don't tell me nobody else wondered about this niggling little detail about the Flame Champion Hideout. (For those curious, Landis filled the open slot in Hugo's party because, well, it's fun writing him.)

~ * The Waiting Game * ~

(Note to self: messing with mysterious sigils carved into the floor of caves thought to be the secret base of legendary heroes is a bad idea. Bad idea…)

So thought Sergeant Jordi as he studied his new environs with more than a little frustration and trepidation. The Duck Clan warrior was beginning to seriously reevaluate his opinion on the existence of such things as spirits.

It wasn't like he'd been the first to fool with the strange symbol. Hugo (that reckless fool) had stood on the damned thing first and gotten swallowed up by that light. Jordi and the rest of his teammates had only been trying to figure out where the boy had gone when the light flared up again – only this time much brighter.

Teammates. The distinction was crucial. There was only one of his companions Jordi knew well enough to consider a friend; the other three were just…

"Where the blazes are we now?"

"Yuh huh huh… Welcome to hell…"

"UWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

"KUUUUUUEEEEEEEEE!!"

…Well. They were freaks. Strong freaks, true, and freaks who tagged along for their own reasons and were nice enough to have around in battle, but…

Looking around at their surroundings -- or lack thereof -- Jordi had to wonder if the Winghorder Landis was, in fact, correct. The five appeared to have transported into some sort of black, featureless void. There wasn't even a floor beneath their feet: instead they floated suspended in midair, though he couldn't feel anything supporting them.

Hopefully gravity wasn't going to kick in shortly and drag them to the bottom of… wherever this was. If this place even _had_ a bottom to speak of…

"Let me guess… You stepped onto the sigil too?"

The sergeant whirled around, or tried to, but spun so violently he nearly lost his balance and fell sideways. Now floating decidedly crookedly -- at least he wasn't faring as badly as Mua, who was completely upside down -- the mallard spotted a somewhat familiar-looking blond man floating a short distance away. He waved, a slight smirk on his face, and Jordi grimaced.

"You're… that man Lady Chris was with at Chisha," he stated.

"That would be me. And for the record, my name's Nash." One corner of the blonde's mouth twitched, giving an ironic little crook to his smile as he added, "I take it the boy you were with just vanished into thin air, and when you tried to find him…"

"How do you know that?" Jordi gripped his weapon tightly, both to keep the halberd from floating away into the void and just in case.

"Well, the same thing happened with Lady Chris," explained Nash, "and I can't see the boy anywhere, so I assumed…"

"…For the record, his name is Hugo," Jordi intentionally echoed the man's earlier comment. "I am Sergeant Jordi, and the griffon is Fubar."

"Kueee," interjected Fubar, paddling around behind the mallard.

"My name would be Mua, Sir Nash," the gaudily clad knight spoke up next, gesturing to his respective companions as he continued, "This is Hallec, and the Winghorder goes by the name of Landis."

"The Grim Reaper is pleased with so many guests," snickered Landis. He seemed to be adjusting the best to their predicament, considering he was currently doing the backstroke somewhere overhead.

"Well, if we're exchanging names, then allow me to introduce you to my other companions." Nash half-turned, being very cautious not to move quickly and flip himself over, and pointed over to where another pair of travelers were floating. "The fellow in the dashing black armor is Fred, and the girl beside him is Rico."

"That's a girl?" blurted Mua. The soldier then flushed with embarrassment and amended, "Oh, sorry, it's just that…"

"It's difficult to tell at first glance, especially at this distance," Nash soothed. Raising his voice, he called, "Hey, you two, why not come over and say hello to our latest arrivals?"

One of the duo, the smaller one with a backpack nearly twice her size strapped to her back, turned and waved back, smiling.

"Oh, hello!" she called. Turning back around, Rico addressed her companion: "Master Fred, don't you want to say hello to our new guests?"

"Not! Now! Rico!" Fred responded, swinging his sword in huge, sweeping arcs at the black expanse before them. "I must destroy this evil trap we've been snared in first! It is my duty as the leader of the Maximillian Knights!"

Rico sighed, shaking her head and saying softly, "But there's nothing here _to_ destroy, evil or otherwise…"

Abruptly an upside-down face was thrust into hers, laughing insanely, and claws closed over her shoulders.

"EVIL HAS YOU!"

"Kyaaaaaa--!" Rico shrilled, backpedaling quickly and yanking her shoulders free from the Winghorder's taloned feet.

"Unhand her, you fiend!" roared a furious Fred, lunging for Landis.

At least, he tried to lunge. Actually, though, what he ended up doing was better described as taking one step forward, promptly flipping over and spinning in place, kicking his legs and swinging his sword blindly in the direction he guessed Landis might be. Said Winger chortled in delight, dog-paddling over to get a better look at the hapless knight's peril.

"Yuh huh huh… Dead-head Fred… Yuh huh--"

Rico's hammer bounced off the back of his head and floated upward. It didn't seem to faze Landis at all, and he resumed laughing where he'd been cut off. Rico sweated as she watched her weapon spiral farther and farther away.

"Oh, dear…" she moaned.

"You should be more careful with this, you know."

Rico double-blinked at the female voice, then looked up to see a smiling woman in a turquoise jacket swimming down toward her, holding her hammer in one hand. Accepting the mallet back with a shy smile, Rico then awkwardly shook the newcomer's hand.

"Thanks… My name is Rico, and that would be Master Fred… Who might you be?"

"Call me Queen, Rico," and Queen smiled. "Good to see I'm not the only halfway sane person stuck here…"

"Hey! I resent that remark!"

The shout was loud enough to draw everyone's eyes upwards to where a ruffian in patchwork leathers floated, glaring down at Queen. Queen rolled her eyes, as did the older man in purple vestments beside him.

"Notice that she only called herself half-sane, Ace," he pointed out, "because hanging out with you for any amount of time would drive anybody out of their mind."

"Oh, you're one to talk, Joker!"

Ace growled and took a swing at his comrade, a move that fared about as well as Fred's charge attempt did. Joker snorted and propelled himself safely out of arm's reach as Ace spun helplessly, smirking at his partner's curses. Sergeant Jordi ignored their antics, however, as he spotted something he found infinitely more interesting.

"Aila! You're here too?" he exclaimed.

"Sergeant Joe!" the archer sounded equally surprised and delighted, twisting around so that she had a better view of the Duck Clan member and the rest of his group. "And Fubar, too? Oh, great! After Karaya burned, I thought…" Shaking her head suddenly, she looked around, asking, "Where are Hugo? And Lulu? Are they safe too?"

"…We have much to talk about," Jordi observed, a shadow falling briefly over his face at the mention of the latter name. (Of course… she'd have no way of knowing…)

"Perhaps we should hold off on the exchange of pleasantries until we figure a way out of this place," Mua observed, trying valiantly to right himself.

"It could be worse," Nash commented cheerfully. "One of these lovely young ladies could have been wearing a skirt."

"That would be a bad thing?" snickered Ace, trying to picture Queen wearing anything other than her jacket ensemble.

"Pervert," snorted Queen.

"………" Jacques, the last member of his group, chose not to comment and instead floated serenely in place, normal neutral expression on his face.

"Never fear! I, Fred Maximillian, will find the way out of this wretched den of evil!"

"Won't that be difficult to do while turned around like that?" queried Mua. "I know I'm having a troublesome time with it…"

"There is only one way out of hell," snickered Landis, holding up his scythe meaningfully.

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

"Quiet, Hallec! I'm trying to think!" Jordi snapped.

Before the sergeant could come up with a sensible solution for their dilemma, however, the warm light appeared again and rapidly engulfed everyone in the void. He squeezed his eyes shut against the burning brightness, the world spinning around him before his webbed feet brushed against cool stone.

"Okay, where the hell am I now?" he muttered, opening his eyes.

To his amazement, the mallard found himself standing behind a kneeling Hugo, flanked by Fubar, Mua, Hallec and Landis. As he blinked rapidly, trying to comprehend what was going on, his vision cleared enough for him to behold the masked man from the labyrinth standing with his minions before them. The bishop glanced back at his own entourage and nodded, then all four seemed to melt into the floor, leaving an even more confused sergeant staring at the space where they had been.

"Hey, what's going on? Where the hell are we?" he repeated, certain of only one thing: he was glad to be out of that void. Not that their current situation seemed any better or much clearer…


	10. Dealing With Downtime

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A Suikoden III Short. Usual disclaimers apply.

Main Characters: Nei, Toppo, Borus, Anne, Landis, Reed, Joker and Ace

Pairings Warning: Mildly implied one-sided (at least) Borus/Chris

Chapters Read: Up to Chapter 4, after setting up in Homeland

Explanation: You know, it has to be annoying at least for some of the groups when you only take part of their clique along with you on a mission… 

~ * Dealing with Downtime * ~

(There are downsides to everything,) Nei decided sadly, nodding in agreement with her own thoughts.

Nei appreciated the new Flame Champion and all his hard work to protect the Grasslands from the insane masked bishop and Harmonia's own designs, she really did. And she was happy she and her two friends had found such a wonderful place to stay in Budehuc Castle. It was much nicer than Vinay de Zexay had been, that was for certain.

She was pleased that little Shabon, in particular, was enjoying their stay at the castle. The youngest of the busker trio found plenty of friends with the various inhabitants, including the Flame Champion himself. She was even becoming an even more talented martial artist thanks to her training and battling the odd monster here and there.

And yet, therein lay part of the problem. Shabon's development into a fierce little fighter also meant the Flame Champion chose to take her along on more and more missions: a recruitment run here, a dungeon dive there… Leaving Toppo and Nei behind while they ran around.

Nei understood that there were many other long-range fighters and magic users in the ranks of the Fire Bringer, and many more talented than the juggler and herself. Honestly, she didn't enjoy fighting all that much anyway, so she didn't mind just staying in the castle while more capable warriors went off to take care of business.

But… When Shabon was away with the party, the other musicians couldn't perform. Their melodies didn't sound complete without the playful rhythms provided by the little girl's bodhran.

The blue-haired elven lass looked over at her silent companion. Toppo was using their time off to tune his fiddle. She smiled and shook her head; it wasn't like his instrument ever had a chance to become off-key, since he took such great care of it. Much in the same way she treated her bouzouki…

(What else can we do, however? I already took a bath a few hours ago… Mio and Yumi were so polite, we talked for so long afterwards… It's far too early in the day to turn in… Perhaps a walk will help pass the time?)

She moved to push back her chair, but before she could do so, the door connecting the tavern with the main castle banged open and a fuming blonde man in armor stormed inside. Surprised, Nei watched him take a seat at the bar and impatiently motion the bartender over.

"I need some ale as fast as you can pour it, Anne," muttered the knight.

"What's the crisis this time, Borus?" Anne sighed, clearly frustrated. The Karayan barkeep did immediately move to fill his order, however, since he was the only inhabitant in the tavern other than the busker pair.

"Lady Chris decided to go on another training trip," Borus replied sullenly, taking the offered mug and draining half its contents in one swig. Setting it back down on the counter, he added, "She took along Louis, of course, as well as Salome, Ayame, Rhett, Wilder, and…"

"Percival?" Anne supplied helpfully.

"Yes." The rest of the ale disappeared down Borus's throat, and he slammed the mug back down before burying his face in his hands.

"Thought so," and Anne hid a smirk as she refilled his flagon. (Never fails. Every time Chris heads off and decides not to take him along, he comes right here and whines about it while drowning his sorrows.) Aloud, she said, "Well, perhaps she simply feels you don't need as much training as the others do right now… Rhett and Wilder are the newest arrivals, correct?"

"Yeah, a couple of ducks. I was left behind in favor of a couple of ducks!" wailed Borus.

"Sounds like fowl play to me…"

Both the knight and the bartender groaned at the horrible pun, and the latter rolled her eyes as well.

"Go away, Landis," she commanded, not even looking up at where the Winghorder hung from the rafters.

"Yuh huh huh… Booze! The Grim Reaper demands it!"

"For the last time, Landis, I'm not giving you any liquor. Spirits know the last thing we need is a drunk Winghorder running around Budehuc."

Landis continued to cackle and hang off the rafters, summarily ignored by the rest of those gathered inside to the best of their ability. Nei looked back toward the door as once again it swung open to admit another blonde man, though this one was clad in neat leathers instead of shiny armor, not to mention his hairstyle was rather… distinctive.

"Ah, you actually have some time off, then?" Anne cheerfully asked of the new arrival as he took a seat at the bar.

"Sort of…" Reed sighed, a few coins clinking onto the polished wood surface as he quietly ordered his usual refreshment. "Milady is with Samus, Hugo, Fubar, the Sergeant and Shabon on a mission. There have been rumors of a dragon sighted around Caleria, and they went to investigate…"

"I see." Anne nodded and slid the requested concoction over to the Tinto guardsman. Tilting her head slightly to one side, she remarked, "But you don't seem as happy about it as I would have thought…?"

"Well, Milady's father does wish for us to protect her. It is our job, after all." Reed sipped his strawberry daiquiri before sighing again, adding, "Perhaps Samus would enjoy this sort of break more. He does like to disagree with Miss Lilly. But then, that may be why she opted to take him along instead…"

The Karayan bartender shook her head; she couldn't possibly begin to guess at what Lilly's motivations were. She wouldn't put it past the girl to pull such a scheme for whatever reason, however…

Speaking of schemes… Anne took a broom from behind the counter and used it to bat away the scythe that was currently trying to loop through the handle of one of her mugs.

"Bad Landis, bad," she chided.

"Yuh huh huh… Beer, woman, beer!"

"No!"

"……" Reed glanced up at the Winghorder hanging off the ceiling for a moment, then quietly edged his seat a bit further away from the bar.

"Pansy," Borus muttered under his breath, shooting both the Tinto swordsman and the cackling Landis dark glares before draining his mug for what was at least the fifth time. Nei had lost count of how many glasses the knight had, distracted as she was by others entering the establishment.

That was when another barged into the bar, though this newcomer used the door connecting to the outside courtyard instead of arriving from the mansion.

"The usual, Anne," Joker declared loudly, striding up to the bar. "I need a few drinks to take my mind off my troubles!"

"The usual few dozen, you mean," interjected Ace, popping his head in through the open doorway.

"Shut up! This is your fault, anyway!"

The mercenaries glared daggers at each other, heedless of the stare Borus was throwing them or the curious glance Reed tossed their way. Anne shrugged, used to their bickering, and set about drawing a few more pints for two of her best customers.

"Um… What exactly seems to be the problem?" Nei asked, since Anne appeared to be too preoccupied to try breaking up the two before things got ugly.

"Boss left us behind because he was sick of the old man's griping," explained Ace glibly.

"You have things backwards," Joker spat acidly. "He was tired of your constant complaining about everyone and everything!"

"I'm sure he figured you needed a break thanks to your latest hangover!"

"More he needed a break from listening to you!"

"I'd say he was sick of the both of you bickering," Borus muttered into his mug.

"It's a shame, really," Anne soothed with a smile. "Did he take anyone else with him instead?"

"Yeah," Joker replied. "That ninja kid and the girl with the naginata."

"Watari and Sanae," supplied Ace, more sullenly than helpfully.

"Yeah, those two." Joker shrugged. "Can't keep track of everyone with all the new arrivals lately…"

"Sure, that's your excuse…" Ace rolled his eyes, then added, looking over at the buskers, "Actually, I think he was looking for you originally, Toppo. How come you didn't answer when he sent for you?"

Nei glanced at her partner in surprise: he'd had an offer to join a party too? But why would he refuse to go along?

"……" Toppo shrugged noncommittally, barely glancing up at the mercenary.

"…You know, you remind me of someone I know," Ace muttered after a moment with a shake of his head.

"Hey!"

Everyone turned to see Anne swinging her broom at the retreating Landis, who swooped away cackling at the top of his lungs, a dripping mug of overflowing ale gripped in each hand (as one as one of his taloned feet). He nearly bowled over Ace and Joker before bursting out the door and into the courtyard.

"Booze! Booze! Booze! Yuh huh huh huh huh!"

"Stop him!" shrieked Anne. "He didn't even pay for those!"

"Let's go, Joker! That guy stole your precious beer!" Ace cajoled, elbowing Joker hard in the side once before turning and dashing out the door.

"Oh, like you weren't going to drink too!" retorted Joker while following his partner outside.

"Ooooooooooooo-_kay_. Let's go, Seed," Borus slurred, pushing out of his seat and gripping the startled Tinto swordsman by the arm. "The pretty lady asked us for help, and we're gonna give it ta her…"

"Um… it's Reed, Sir Borus," corrected Reed, looking more interested in quietly finishing his drink or just slipping away unnoticed than going after a liquor-crazed Winghorder.

"…Whatever."

As Borus all but dragged Reed out of the tavern, Nei blinked. After a moment, she couldn't help giggling, and pushed out of her seat, standing up.

(To think I was almost bored for a while there… Budehuc proves more interesting everyday…)

"Let's go help out too," she suggested to Toppo with a smile.

Toppo just nodded, and the busker duo headed outside to assist in the search and subjugation of Landis.


	11. Role Reversal

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A Suikoden III Short. Usual disclaimers apply.

Main Characters: Aila, Nadir, Jacques, Lilly, Rody and Borus

Pairings Warning: …Maybe if you're an absolutely obsessed fan of Aila/Jacques, you can find a smidgen of it here…

Chapters Read: Just so long as you've recruited Nadir, then it's fine. I guess there's some mild spoilers for who ends up joining the Fire Bringer, but really, shouldn't you know all that by now?

Explanation: Just something odd I was wondering about one of the plays…

~ * Role Reversal * ~

"But why? Why can't I play that role?"

The ceramic mask Nadir always wore seemed even more annoying to Aila at the moment, because it kept her from reading the theater master's face. The stark white porcelain kept its inscrutable expression, its maddening ghost of a smile or smirk untouched. It failed to conceal the mild hint of exhaustion that was gradually creeping into Nadir's voice as he continued to try reasoning with the stubborn Karayan huntress.

"Because, as I've already explained, I have cast Jacques as the title character."

"So change it. You've made changes like that before, haven't you?"

"Yes, but under different circumstances… when it was clear they were no longer available to play that role."

What went unmentioned by the producer was that, more often than not, the reason people tended to become unavailable was because they'd suddenly be called upon to go on some quest or another for the Fire Bringer. They were a rebellion first, Nadir understood, and such matters took precedence over that as serving as a theater troupe… though he sometimes wondered at the why of it.

Odd how often that occurred anymore. How sad.

Nadir had such high hopes for this production, too. When he'd put up the bulletin announcing who would star in their latest enactment of 'William Tell', he'd been pleasantly surprised when all five of his primary choices showed up for rehearsal. His joy had lasted until Aila started debating his selection -- not so much for the fact that he'd chosen her, but rather, what he'd chosen as her role.

"Why do I have to stand back and cheer? I'd rather be the one doing the shooting!" Aila stamped her foot to punctuate her declaration, clutching her bow in both balled-up fists.

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that 'William Tell' is a man?" suggested Borus sarcastically.

"That has nothing to do with it!" declared Lilly haughtily, raising her chin and glaring down her nose at the knight. "And I'd watch my tongue if I were you, considering you're likely to be her target either way…"

"Miss Yuiri did do a fine job with the role in the last performance," Rody supplied, the young mage raising his hands as if hoping to ward off the potential fight with some sort of magic.

He'd done well with the rest of his casting, Nadir decided as he appraised the small group gathered backstage. Lilly was such a natural in the role of the lord, and Rody made a fine attendant for her. As for Borus, though he didn't give any particular reasons for why the Swordsman of Rage had been chosen for the part of the archer's son/target, it was merely proof that Nadir was aware of more things around the castle than the scope of his plays.

(Perhaps Aila was not so suitable a choice for the crowd, however,) he mused as his attention turned back to the fuming archer. (But I merely supposed…)

"But Sir Jacques here has also served as a fine choice for the lead in the past," he explained smoothly, "and…"

"So let someone else have a turn!" Aila folded her arms.

"She does have a point," Rody conceded.

(Oh dear…) "Sir Jacques, what of you? You are the star of this play, after all! Don't you wish to defend your role?" entreated Nadir.

"………" Jacques' pale blue eyes studied the group for a few seconds before sliding to one side, and he slowly shook his head once. "…I don't… mind…"

"Hah! I'm amazed you got anything from him at all!" laughed Lilly, smirking. "He barely even remembers to speak his lines! I'm sure Aila could do a much better job of it…"

"That's right!" Aila's dark brown curls bounced as she nodded eagerly, triumph lighting her green eyes. "Jacques can play the crowd if he wants; let me be William Tell instead!"

"Aila…" Nadir briefly rubbed the top of his forehead where the mask met his hairline with two gloved fingers before sighing, "As you know, we use real arrows onstage. Were you to miss…"

"I don't miss!" Aila lifted her chin proudly. "I'm one of the most talented archers we have!"

"Pssh… She's nowhere near Roland's level, or even one of those Alma Kinan girls…" Borus muttered under his breath.

Lilly gave him a strange look and queried, "Do you want to end up with an arrow stuck in your butt?"

"Actually, Miss Estella told me that the reason that Sir Borus here acts so mean most of the time is because of an unfortunate sparring incident where Percival…"

"I don't want to hear it!" Borus roared at the apprentice, while Lilly and Aila exchanged a glance and a knowing smirk as they filled in the rest by themselves.

"Still, you can see why I don't enjoy the thought of allowing a less… seasoned archer to play the lead," Nadir hedged. "Were you to experience stage fright…"

"I don't scare easily. I'll show you how good I am!"

With that declaration, Aila lifted her bow and drew her sights upon a mannequin propped up against the far wall. Sensing she wasn't about to be stopped, the others quietly backed away so as not to disturb her -- or worse, risk getting hit themselves. Nadir watched silently as her arm drew back, the bowstring quivering in anticipation.

(I can do this. I'll just imagine that oversized doll is Borus, and…)

A musical twang sounded as Aila let the missile fly. Six pairs of eyes followed its path as it whistled through the air and buried itself up to the point where it landed, the shaft quivering from the impact.

"………"

"Miss Aila…" Rody's piping voice eventually broke the awkward silence, "…I think that your aim was a little low, perhaps…"

"…Who says I didn't mean for it to land there?" questioned Aila, scowling, cheeks flushing with a touch more color than usual.

"…I say do it." Lilly smirked wickedly as she turned to face the others. "Make the switch, or I won't bother playing my role, either."

"………" Borus's face was white, and his legs twitched closer together as he turned pleading amber eyes to Jacques. "…I don't suppose you'd wish to trade with me?"

Jacques just shook his head.


End file.
